East Lansing Could Be Home For Top MSU Football Target After Recent Official Visit

The Michigan State Spartans have been recruiting Orchard Lake St. Mary's hard. Two 2025 commits are from the program. Bryson Williams is a versatile weapon, and the Spartans have set their sights on making him their third St. Mary's commit.

Oct 12, 2019; Madison, WI, USA; Michigan State Spartans logo on footballs during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Three-star athlete Bryson Williams visited Michigan State on the last weekend of official visits before the summer dead period. Williams is a talented receiver, which has caught the eye of Spartans receivers coach Courtney Hawkins.

Williams is a great athlete, a track star -- I first spoke with him at the MHSAA Division II track and field state finals. His athleticism and prowess with the ball has Michigan State running backs coach Keith Bhonapha eager to use Williams as a running back.

The balance will be, as Williams describes it, a role akin to that of Deebo Samuel with the San Fransisco 49ers.

But for the Spartans to realize this goal, they have to secure Williams. His official visit was a great step in that process. When we first spoke, Williams told me he was excited to visit and get to know everything on a deeper level. His visit went great, he told me.

Williams was hosted by the star recruit of the 2024 class, wide receiver Nick Marsh. He got to hang around quarterback Aidan Chiles. He spent time with Hawkins and Bhonapha. Most importantly, Williams saw what he needed to see -- the culture.

"Something that stood out to me was how family-oriented it was," Williams told me. "It was a lot of families, a lot of bonding, especially, I got to see the quarterback hangs with the [defensive backs], the team all hangs out together, it's very tight-knit, close bond. There's on division between, 'Oh you're a starting quarterback, you're a third-string lineman,' they're all just football players trying to win, win a championship. So that's one of the big things I saw this weekend."

There was a "big" difference between this official visit and the unofficial visit Williams had taken to East Lansing.

"Now, I really got to see what they do, how they can use me, so I feel like that was pretty big, because I didn't really know," Williams said.

Williams' Orchard Lake St. Mary's teammates, DJ White and Jayden Savoury, are already 2025 Spartan commits. They have both had a hand in Williams recruitment, he told me.

"They're always trying to get on me. 'Come home, come home, come home.' So, they really try to recruit me a lot, they're probably my heaviest recruiters. Probably bigger than the coaches," Williams said.

Williams told me a decision will come on July 2. Whether or not "home" is in East Lansing is anyone's guess.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

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